Video

Is it snowing in your neighborhood? Cold and blustery here. And when it snows I load up my "squirrel-proof" bird feeder with seeds and enjoy the show out my kitchen window. Recently I decided to capture the scene in a movie.

My venture into iMovie film making turned out to be a fun snowy day project. However only a few weeks ago I never would have dreamed of trying this. My past movie-making projects were disastrous even with all the how-to tips I consulted online. Then I went to the amazing Alt Summit SLC class with filmmakers (and bloggers) Alison Faulkner at The Alison Show and Jenner Brown of Lumineux Films. Jumping into film making takes energy—so fortified with the yummy treats during their hands-on Alt class, my brain was inspired!

Okay, I have to tell you two things before you watch my attempt at film making:

First, if you have a short attention span, then you are in luck because my movie is EXTRA short—barely 1 minute long

Second, don't expect a masterpiece. It is probably best called a "work-in-progress" because I know later I can go back and edit it some more.

Be sure to check out Alison's super fun videos on her blog here. Jenner has some great work on many blogs. I really love this "Joy & Ruby" video he did for the Small Fry blog here.

So what did I learn in the class by Alison and Jenner? Lots! Here are just a few of the iMovie 11 tips via class:

• Add some sugar :) A supply of donuts on hand inspires creativity (Alison and I agree on that one!)

• Use "Show Advanced Tools" option. When you first set up your iMovie, go to "Preferences" and click on "Show Advanced Tools" this allows you to do cutaways, picture in picture, and green screens. (If you don't select this, when you try to add a logo in iMovie the pop-up window won't show up .)

• Add an interesting custom logo or title artwork. In Photoshop or another design program, create an interesting logo/title and save it as a PNG image with a transparent background. You can add it to your movie by selecting the PNG file, dragging it over to the movie clip near the start of your movie and click on "Picture in Picture" option. Once you get the PNG image in, you can adjust its placement on the clip. (If your PNG image turns black, you probably clicked on "Fit." To fix this, click on "Ken Burns Effect."

• Boost the stabilization of shaky footage. If your film footage is shaky—that's usually my style—then in iMovie double click on the film clip, open up "Inspector" and select "Stabilization."

• Make your film more interesting by including background sound, a voiceover, or music. To do this, move your cursor over to the "Music Note" icon (center right in iMovie screen). A box appears in the lower right portion and you can choose between iMovie/iLife sound effects and iTunes. If you want to add favorite music track from iTunes beware of copyrights. Next, select the sound clip you want and click on it, hold it . A sound icon appears. Drag the icon over to movie and drop it in. Two options for sound placement—you can place the sound clip on a specific portion of the movie (a gray strip appears below the movie clip) or attach it to the entire movie (the space surrounding the movie turns green). Use theiMovie voice over tool (microphone icon in the middle of the iMovie screen) to add your commentary later.

• iMovie works with still images too. As you might have noticed with my fim, the entire movie is made using photos and including the "Ken Burns Effect." This effect adds panning and zooming to still imagery in the video production. Too add more interest you can modify how the still imagery appears by changing the panning/zooming area selected from the start to the end of the clip by adjusting the cropping marks appearing on the image in iMovie. You can even change the length of time the clip appears to add variety.

IMAGES: Photos by the talented Alt Summit photographer Brooke Dennis and the short movie by ME on Vimeo here :)

My mom was a home-ec teacher so I started sewing—or really playing—with one of her older Singer sewing machines when I was about six or seven. She stored a big box of fabric remnants in the closet for me to use in my sewing creations. When I wanted to make something really adventurous, I remember going to my neighbor to get fabric remnants from their daughter's fancy and often sparkly prom dresses.

Fast forward a few years—don't ask me to specify—and I still love to sew. One of my sources of inspiration are the "little sewing epiphanies" via Sarai Mitnick at Colette Patterns. Her book Colette Sewing Handbook is an amazing guide for sewers of almost any skill level to create your own unique wardrobe:

"Five simple fundamentals can help you perfect any sewing project: a thoughtful plan, a precise pattern, a fantastic fit, a beautiful fabric, and a fine finish. With these five core ideas,The Colette Sewing Handbook shows you how to start sewing the wardrobe of your dreams."

I'm a fan of the classic lines of Colette patterns. My favorite patterns by Sarai are the double-breasted Anise jacket and the simple slim Clover pants—so amazing because they both go with practically anything. (See images above.) Sarai even ranks the sewing level needed for her patterns. The jacket is best for intermediate level sewers and the pants are beginner and above skill level.

Even though Sarai's sewing handbook says on the cover it is for the new seamstress, I think the detailed information she gives about how to finish a garment places it on the must-have list for sewers of ANY skill level.

Monica Lee interviews Sarai Mitnick

I love a good behind-the-scenes story about artists and finding out how creatives get their start in the biz. That's probably why I'm a huge fan of Monica Lee's video interviews at SmartCreativeWomen.com. Recently she interviewed Sarai Mitnick from Colette Patterns on how and why she started her own pattern company.

A sleepless night will never seem the same after you watch this music video—a stop motion—by Oren Lavie and featuring photos by Eyal Landesman. The film is a classic—earning a nomination in the 52nd Grammy Awards.

2096 still photos.

One mattress.

One photo angle.

48 hours of shooting.

These are just a few of the elements that came together to make the dreamworld of the music video Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie. Watch the movie below. See how the movie was made in this behind the scenes glimpse.

You can own a bit of history and buy a one frame of the 2096 still photos in the film. Details at HMEgallery.com

Early breakfasts. School drop offs before dawn. Ok, I exaggerate, but setting my alarm this early makes me grumpy. I have the back-to-school blues. AND it's a Monday! I definitely need a couple extra shots of espresso today. So I thought a little combo of fantasy + humor is required this morning. Here's a post about an ad George Clooney did for a Norwegian bank. First a few of my favorite images from the ad... You can watch the entire commercial in a video at the end of the post.

So what does George Clooney have to do with a Norwegian bank? And why cast a committed bachelor to be the one getting married? Talk amongst yourselves... But if you want my highly opinionated opinion, Clooney is the perfect fantasy husband. And in the ad, Clooney is looking more charming than ever.

Image: VANCOUVER MORNING photo at the top of this post is by me, Chris Olson, from a recent trip. I created the two CLOONEY ad diptics that feature the Norwegian Bank DnB NOR ad. Feel free to Pin them Pinterest with a link back to this post. Thanks!

Yay! It's the weekend. Saturday mornings at my house are times to catch up on everything forgotten during the week and sneak in a few loads of laundry. And while I'm waiting for the spin cycle to end, why not catch up on my favorite stop motion films on my iPhone. I thought the Sorry I'm Late short film would be the perfect pick for the last day of Shark Week.

And while we are talking about diversions from completing the Saturday morning chores, check out the lovely Cartolina iPhone app that creates an eco-friendly card to send via your phone using your favorite photos. Check out the card above I created in seconds featuring my pal Gizmo.

I do love everything about dogs and stationery, but I digress... Back to watching the film on your phone or laptop. The stop motion short film Sorry I'm Late by Tomas Mankovsky is a whimsical 2-minute film about "being late for an important date. The movie was shot in an auditorium in London with a stills camera in the ceiling and pointing straight at the floor. Be sure to watch the credits portion at the end of the film because it gives a glimpse into the technique for making this innovative movie. You can watch the short film below.

Check out this link for a more detailed explanation with photos on the how the filmakers made the stop motion video.

Film Credits: Sorry I'm Late stop motion film was produced by Tomas Mankovsky. You can also view it on Vimeo.

Watching this behind-the-scenes video about the gluten-free foodie Lisa Thiele—she blogs at With Style and Grace—makes me want to stock up on fresh veggies and whip up a healthy meal for dinner. How does Lisa work her kitchen magic and manage to create mouth-watering blog posts? Her blog name gives it away—she has both style and grace.

Everything looks delicious thanks to Lisa's cooking finesse and the awesome food styling by Erin at Apartment 34. The video features Erin's beautiful loft home. You can find out more about how they made the video at theglitterguide.com.

Watch baby Lotte grow up and age 12 years in 2 minutes, 45 seconds in this time lapse video by the proud dad and Dutch filmmaker Frans Hofmeester. Lotte's dad says, "I filmed my daughter every week, from birth up until she turned 12 years old and then made this time lapse edit in FCP."

This adorable video of Lotte growing up makes me want to create a time lapse video. Have you ever made one? For a tutorial video on making a time-lapse video, check out Rob Griffins' Macworld tutorial. As Rob explains, with a time-lapse video you convert hours and days of activity into minutes and seconds of video. In his tutorial, he says:

I explain two ways of creating such videos, one easy and free, the other more complicated and time consuming (guess which method I’ve been using).

What happens to all the books on the shelves after the bookstore lights go out at night? I believe books come to life. And why not, when I read to my kids at bedtime our books seem to have special magical powers that transport us to new places.

A whimsical stop-motion video, The Joy of Books, takes us to the wonderful TYPE Books in Toronto where the books seem to have loads of fun after the owner goes home each night. The video was created by Sean Ohlenkamp, an associate creative director at the Toronto advertising agency Lowe Roche. To make videos like this, the creators must shoot each image frame-by-frame. Creating a stop-motion video is extremely time consuming. Each video in this format is truly a labor of love. According to an article in TheStar.com about the creation of the The Joy of Books, "Each second of the piece uses approximately 10 frames, so in all the almost--two-minute work used about 1,200 frames."

One of my favorite lines from Nora Ephron's movie "You've Got Mail" probably sums up the magical power of books best:

"When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life."

Hello, friends. Hope you had a relaxing weekend and also stepped outside for a break too. When I hike around my neighborhood I always scan the sky for red-tailed hawks and peregrine falcons circling over the foothill ridges. Their movements, usually two birds hunting in tandem, amaze me. The vimeo movie above captured by Sophie Windsor Clive while paddling a canoe features a stunning view of a collection of starlings swirling in large formations that remind me of a sci-fi amoeba in the sky. Check it out.

Are you looking for a cool activity to do with your kids? Have some fun with your camera and try creating a stop motion video. Check out the amazing Vimeo video below by Trent Bailey Photography for ideas.

Blog Policy

I am delighted to have my images from this blog re-posted but please always credit MomathonBlog.com as the original source when re-posting to your blog, Pinterest, Tumblr, or any other site. Please also credit with a link back to MomathonBlog.com. Please ask permission before re-posting exact text, instructions, recipes, or diy's from MomathonBlog.com. Thank you.